Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1887-04-22

sNAO"h az MOti0 plGn Otlt CNcTJ
effort was made to dissualu him. For
timc ho was silent, grim, deaf. Then
ha pointed to tho northeast md said:
''Therc lilo tho bones of MY children
and friends, and will not rest until
havo avenged them thrice over"
They told him tho country was alivu
with hostiles, and that cvcry rod of tho
way was beset with pcrils but ns tho
sun went down he harncsca his mules
TO tho iron tongue, climbed into the
caddlc, and without nod of farewell to
any ono ho rotlc to tho west in the
gathering gloom--moro grim, moro DO
tcrmined, moro of devil than u human
being. lie had travelled good sharc of
tho night over n country i'll which death
lurlicd in every rayinc; but tho watchful
savagcs had not cspicd him. Ho had
Travelled until mid-afternoon next day
along trail where savagrs outnumbercd
the Gnakcs twenty to ono, but somehow
they had missed him. Wo wcro riding
at full speed for tho fort, kcoping tho
shelter of the dry TivincI and the valleys,
md expecting ut any moment to bo pur-
sued when wo ran upon Grim Walker.
His wagon stood on tho open prairio Mt
least l,alf u mile from tho river md tho
ohiSibSA VA biiO NSttOAiMOOOl, 1ilC lOtu
mules had been unharncsscd and turned
out to grazo, and tho man was cooking
his supper ut campfire, tho smoke 81
which would draw Indians for ten miles
around. Our nstonishmcnt when wo
found him there alono kept uo dumb for
n few minutes. Wo sat OH our horses
and stared ut him, and hc erected our
presence by q nero nod. When rccog-
,,t- n A..
suspect the enterprise he had on foot,
| and after had put fcw questions he
briefly explained:
~ am hero to kill Indians You can
look my wagon over If you caro- to-
1t was what have described. lie Ind
barrel OF moro of fresh wnter, lot OF
flour and meat, q small stovo to cook on
and n perfect arsenal Of firearms. It
was evident that tho Indians could not
get ut him with bullets, nor tomalawll,
nor fire, and it would take weeks to
6tarvc him out. There was only ono
thing that troubled the man. His stock
would bc killed off ut once when hc was
attacked, and he would then hnvo no
way of moving his wagon. Wo helped
him out of his dilemma by agreeing to
take tho animals TO tho fort. The har-
ncsses were piled into his house, and il
was understood that he would como for
the mules when no wanted them. He
had q compass, and wc gayp him tho cx-
net bearings, md ns wo rolo away ho was
| preparing TO toast another piece Of meat,
seemingly utterly unc0ncerncd over the
dangers Of his surroundings. AS TO what
happened him during tho next three
weeks had few mcagrc details from
his own lips, but plenty Of information
from warriors who nfterward became
friendly" That is when licked out OF
their boots half dozen Gmc9, their vii
lagos destroyed, many of their ponies
shot, and their squaws and children
driven to temporary starvation, they
criel for pcaco in order 10 recruit and
make ready for another campaign.
Tho campfire which Grim Walker built
saved tho three of us from being am.
buslicd. a warrior told me that forty
savagcs were between us and tho fort
when the smoke led them to believe that
n largo party OF immigrants must bo
campcd in tho bottoms. 1t could only
bo large party which would dare build
such fire in hostile country. The
warriors wcro all drawn of by signal
to attack the larger game and before
sundown that evening 200 murtlcrous
| redskins wcro opening their cycs very
wide at sight of tho ono lone wagon an.
J chorcd on tho prairie under their noscs
How did it get therc2 Whcro were the
horses or mules! Wns it occupied:
They must have asked themselves these
questions over and over again, but there
stool tho wagon, grim silent, mysterious
| Tho whole band finally moved down for
q closer inspection, believing tho vehicle
TO. have been abandoned, and hopeful
that something i'll tho shape of plumber
had been left behind. They had como
cloGc-thcy Ind entirely surrounded the
vchicle-whcn a sheet Of flamo darted
from ono of the port llolcs, and Grim
Walker had begun 10 tally his victims.
Before the redskins could get out OF
range ho had killed seven of them, using
shot guns and buckshot. 1t was only
when they came to return the fire thai
tho savagcs discovered what sort Of
vehicle he'd been hauled ont there among
them. They wasted hundreds of bullets
boforc they ceased firing, md with rifle
Walker killed two moro of them before
night set in.
Tho superstitious nature Of tho Indian
would have driven him away had ho not
burned for revenge. And. too. it was
argued that the wagon must contain
something of great value to have been
built that way, and greed was added to
the thirst for vengeance. They believed
that the bottom Of tho box, mt least, was
of wood, and about thrco hours after
dark n number of warriors cach having
a bunch of dry grass under his arm,
crcpt forward to the vehicle to start n
fire under it. They crcpt as noisclcssly
as serpcnts, but before man of them
had passed under n double barreled shot
gun bclchcd forth its contents, and two
more bucks set out for tho happy hunt
ing grounds. Next day, refusing TO be-
love that wagon could DO bullet proof,
tho Indians opened q fusiladc, which was
maintained for two hours, They were
behind trees and logs and under cover,
and not shot was provoked in re-
sponsc. Various schemes were concocted
to get at tho wagon, which was finally
believed to contain party OF hunters,
but noac promised success. At noon,
however, n number of young warriors
volunteered to carrv Out n plop Tbnro